Harley
Killop Reservoir, 2 February 2008
Harley stumbled away from the clearing, not wanting to believe what he’d just seen. He could hear heavy footsteps closing in behind him and he started back down the hill. His heart beat double time as fear took hold. His breath came in short, sharp bursts as he scrambled through the undergrowth. The trees and bushes seemed to reach out their branches and tried to snare him as he passed—they scratched his face and tugged at his clothes. Dan caught up and clamped his hand on Harley’s shoulder and dragged him to a halt.
‘Harley, will you quit running? Everything is okay and no one’s going to hurt you.’
Harley shook his head and tried to wriggle out of his grasp. Dan was his friend, Dan had always looked out for him, but something was very wrong. Dan had hurt Mark and then pushed him off the cliff. Harley had to find him and make sure that he was okay.
‘Can you just stop for a minute?’ Dan said.
Harley turned his head and stared at Dan. ‘You pushed him. You pushed him.’
‘Calm down,’ Dan said firmly. ‘You’re working yourself up.’
‘You pushed him off the edge—why did you do that?’
‘We just had a fight, that’s all.’
‘He could be hurt.’
‘Oh, come on. Yeah it’s a drop but it won’t kill him.’
‘But why did you do it?’ Harley asked. ‘Has Georgie got something to do with it?’
Dan stared at Harley for a minute. ‘Just how much did you overhear?’
Harley looked down, breaking eye contact. His heart was still hammering and he wanted to find Mark, but Dan still had his hand on his shoulder. ‘You didn’t answer my question. What did you hear?’
‘That Mark said what happened to Georgie was your fault—what did he mean, Dan?’
‘Nothing, Mark was just talking shit. He’s upset about what happened and he’s lashing out. I didn’t do anything to Georgie—you believe me, don’t you?’
Harley thought about Dan’s words. He wanted to believe him.
‘Listen, Harley, Mark’s upset and saying crazy things. If he told someone, even though it’s not true, I could really get in trouble.’
Harley frowned. ‘What sort of trouble?’
‘Big trouble. The type that I might get taken away for. You wouldn’t want that, would you?’
Harley shook his head. ‘No.’
‘I didn’t think so,’ Dan said with a smile. ‘Because if I went away, who is going to look out for you? Come on, we’ve been friends since kindergarten and I’ve always had your back. Remember?’
‘Yes, I remember. We’re friends.’
‘That’s right and you wouldn’t want to get me into trouble, would you? You’d want to protect me just like I’ve always done for you.’
Harley nodded.
‘Good, that’s good,’ Dan said, giving Harley an awkward hug. ‘I knew that I could always count on you.’
‘What do I have to do?’
‘Nothing mate, just don’t tell anyone that you saw us on the cliff. Pretty simple, eh?’
‘Yes.’